Fog Blankets Most Of Northwest India, J&K Highway Reopens

Fog blanketed most parts of north west India on Sunday, with Delhi witnessing temperatures above the seasonal average and an air quality of 'poor'. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded 13 degrees Celsius minimum temperature, six notches above season's average, while the maximum temperature is expected to settle at 16 degrees Celsius.

The AQI reached 230 at 9 am, a decline from Saturday's 'moderate' at 135 at 4 pm. This is still an improvement over the severe AQI reported earlier this week, after Delhi-NCR witnessed the highest single-day December rainfall in 101 years on Saturday at 41.2 mm.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data highlighted varying AQI levels across Delhi's regions at 7 am: Okhla Phase 2 recorded AQI at 245, Alipur (202), Rohini (271), ITO (243), Ashok Vihar (251), Shadipur (222), Mundka (270), Jahangirpuri (288), Narela (191), DTU (140), R.K. Puram (252), Anand Vihar (287), Pusa (238), and Punjabi Bagh (214).

The weather department has forecasted mostly clear sky for the day. However, a thin blanket of fog reduced visibility in Safdarjung and Palam areas to 800 meters, and to 500 m at the airports as of 5.30 am.

Recent Satellite imagery detected fog layer over South Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, north Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, west and south Uttar Pradesh, south Himachal Pradesh, south Uttarakhand, southwest Bihar, west Jharkhand, north chhattisgrah and east Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/ceZrBFf4Bi

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) December 29, 2024

Uttar Pradesh

In East Uttar Pradesh, visibility was recorded at 0 meters in Prayagraj, 50 meters in Varanasi, and 400 meters in Gorakhpur. The iconic Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh's Agra was seen covered in a thin layer of fog.

The maximum temperature is forecasted to reach 22 degrees Celsius on Sunday in Kanpur while the minimum temperature will plummet to 10 degrees Celsius. The weather in Lucknow will remain cloudy with the possibility of rain in some areas, and the maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 24 degrees Celsius and 12 degrees Celsius.

In Bareilly, the maximum temperature on Sunday will reach 21 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature has been predicted to plummet to 10 degrees Celsius.

Hilly Regions

Cold conditions persisted in Leh, as the temperature was recorded at -11.5 degrees Celsius, while Shimla saw a temperature of 4.4 degrees Celsius. The cold situation in Jammu and Kashmir is also similar as the temperature In Srinagar city was recorded at 1 degree Celsius, while Gulmarg recorded -6.4 degrees Celsius, Jammu 7.4 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam -5.2 degrees Celsius, and Kupwara 0.2 degrees celsius, as per IMD data at 9.30 am.

Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar witnessed snowfall as the city experienced intense cold amid the ongoing 40-day period of Chilla-i-Kalan. Roads and highways remained highly slippery due to frozen layers of snow left behind after machines cleared most of the fallen snow on Saturday.

Traffic on the strategic Srinagar-Jammu national highway was restored, which was closed on Saturday due to heavy snowfall. Officials cautioned that the road is slippery between Banihal and Qazigund, and that Mughal Road/Sinthan Road/Sonamarg-Kargil Road/ Bhaderwah-Chamba Road are still closed due to snow accumulation.

Authorities are also restoring traffic on Srinagar-Baramulla, Srinagar-Kupwara, Srinagar-Bandipora and other inter-district roads in the Valley. Locals in Sonamarg, Gund, Kulgan, Anantnag and Kulan and other areas opened their homes and mosques to protect stranded tourists.

Photo Credit: ANI

Airport authorities said flight operations have been restored at Srinagar International Airport with the arrival of flights now.

Meanwhile, the IMD has issued an orange alert for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand due to heavy rainfall, snowfall, and hailstorms.

Punjab And Haryana

Amritsar had a visibility of 50 meters, while Chandigarh recorded 100 meters as dense fog blanketed the city.

Rajasthan

A thin sheet of ice formed on Mount Abu as the temperature dipped below freezing point, while visibility was affected in Jaipur due to a thick blanket of fog.

Photo Credit: ANI

Forecast

Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail during late night/early morning hours in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, Rajasthan till December 30.

The Meteorological (MeT) department forecasted cold, dry weather during the next 72 hours in Jammu and Kashmir. Heavy rainfall or snowfall is likely at isolated places over NE-Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, northern parts of Mandi, Lahul-Spiti, Kinnaur and northern parts of Sirmaur districts till tomorrow morning, said IMD.

In Uttar Pradesh, the weather is likely to remain dry on December 30 and 31, while a warning for dense fog has been issued for Monday. The temperatures are expected to plunge to nine degrees Celsius.

What IMD Scientist Said

Speaking to ANI, IMD scientist Soma Sen Roy said, "A strong and intense western disturbance has reached North India, interacting with moisture from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, leading to thunderstorms across North, Central, and West India. An Orange alert has been issued for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and East Madhya Pradesh due to heavy rainfall, snowfall, and hailstorms."

She also stated that cold wave conditions will prevail in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. "Temperatures will drop by 3-5 degrees Celsius in North India. Severe cold wave conditions will prevail in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan," IMD Scientist Soma Sen Roy said.